Interspace Commerce
Interspace Commerce (IC) is one of the "Big Three" Liberty companies and insures cargo carried within the colonies and into the Border Worlds. Bases *Bonn Station, New Berlin system *Newark Station, New York system *Roppongi Station, New Tokyo system *Waterloo Station, New London system Faction Standings *ALLIES: **Liberty Corporations **Liberty Navy **Liberty Police Incorporated **Liberty Security Force *ENEMIES **Lane Hackers **Outcasts **Criminals News PIRACY COSTS MILLIONS ANNUALLY: CORTEZ -- IC has released numbers detailing the credit amount of shipping losses incurred each year by the three criminal groups the populate the system. According to IC statistics, the Lane Hackers are responsible for te greatest loss in profits of stolen goods. The Liberty Rogues account for the most strikes undertaken, and the Outcasts kill more than both of the other two groups combined. "These numbers are very disconcerting, and obviously more must be done to stop the perpetrators of these terrible crimes," said Raymond Green, an IC representative. IC HIKES IW CARGO RATES: GALILEO -- Shipping insurance giant IC has once again raised premiums on cargoes traveling through the Independent Worlds. Company executives claim that without additional military protection they can no longer assume the costs of lost cargo, given the current rate structure. They also specifically cited the inability of the Kusari military to properly secure the safety of the vessels near the Shikoku Jump Gate. The Kusari government and Samura condemned the action, asserting that Liberty criminals inhabiting those areas were responsible for the bulk of the recent insured losses. TENSIONS RUN HIGH AMONG SHIPPERS: GALILEO -- Interspace Commerce reports that damage claims have increased two fold during the past twelve months in Galileo as shippers of the two houses use underhanded methods to sabotage competitors' ships in the lightly patrolled Independent Worlds. The illegal behavior has been increasing steadily since Synth Foods was first granted access to Kusari food markets more than a decade ago. IC TO STOP INSURING OMEGA SHIPPING: FREISTADT -- In recent weeks, the number of attacks on shipping by Hessians and Corsairs has reached crisis levels within Omega-7. Only 50 percent of all convoys have successfully completed their trips. Interspace Commerce has threatened to issue a travel warning for all shipping companies as soon as tomorrow, which could effectively shut down Bretonia-Rheinland trade. Travel warnings represent the most serious threat assessed by IC, effectively ceasing any insurance coverage for a shipper who dares venture forth. RECORD BOUNTY OFFERED BY IC: NEWARK -- IC announced today a reward of two million credits for the death or capture of dreaded Outcast pirate Santiago Llorens. "IC is dedicated to the eradication of crime in Liberty and throughout Sirius," said Public Relations Director John Vrimoot. Immediately the Bounty Hunters Guild issued a communication stating that two of its very finest men who have attained the rank of Guild Master would be dispatched with six journeymen Hunters to find and kill Llorens. Rumors "Few people understand what Interspace Commerce really does. We are primarily in the insurance business -- specifically, hazard insurance for ships and cargos that use Ageira-manufactured Jump Gates and Trade Lanes in the Sirius Sector." - Bartender Remmington Dauncey, Waterloo Station, New London system "Interspace Commerce began as a banking institution formed to supply other Houses with the capital necessary for the construction of Trade Lanes within their space. Over time we became an insurance agency." - Sales Rep. Sara West, Interspace Commerce "Bretonia has been quite agreeable to the terms of IC, unlike Kusari and Rheinland, who defaulted on our perfectly legal Trade Lane financing terms in 521. Because Liberty was not ready to back us up, we lost significant leverage and were forced to transform our company from finance to insurance." - Patricia Stewart, Interspace Commerce "The tolls that Kusari and Rheinland had to pay us were not nearly the full amount that we had put up to fund their Jump Gates. The compromise reached in the Sirius Commerce Pact was not a comprimise for our corporation, but unfortunately Liberty didn't have the military clout to enforce the payment of Rheinland and Kusari's debts to us." - Joshua Crews, Interspace Commerce "The Rheinland government asked IC to leave after the trade dispute of 521. We were not able to return to New Berlin until the agreement between Liberty and Rheinland following the Eighty-Years War. Liberty companies were granted free access to Rheinland space at that time." - Bonn Bartender Jochen Sponla "Our relations with Kusari and Rheinland have never really recovered. They have banished our company from residence in their major planets, and we cannot even build bases in any of their minor systems. The irony is that we were the ones who lost all the money." - Bartender Mike Karlin, Newark Station "Recently we partnered with Ageira to create the Universal Ship Identification system, or USI. It is installed in Jump Gates and Trade Lanes so we can see the cargo that is being hauled by each individual vessel, allowing for proper tariffs to be levied and shipments to be properly tracked." - Sales Rep. Sara West, Interspace Commerce "We developed USI technology in tandem with Ageira. It allows us to track shipments anywhere on the Trade Lane gride using powerful ship-sized scanners. There is no easy way for shippers to cheat us by overstating the value of their cargos in case of loss, or attempting to ship high-value cargos without our knowledge. This allows us to set our rates at a premium and minimize fraud." - Sales Rep Caroline Williams, Waterloo Station, New London system "The Lane Hackers' theft of our proprietary technology has been most unfortunate. Ageira is in the process of patching the software and modifying the hardware scanners to make it Lane Hacker proof, at which point we feel that full confidence in IC and Ageira will be restored." - Bartender Remmington Dauncey, Waterloo Station, New London system "The Lane Hackers are a bunch of California boys who split on Ageira and became the worst possible enemies of IC. They have Trade Lane technology, which allows them to punch ships out of the Trade Lanes. Once that happens, the shipments are basically theirs." - Bartender Mike Karlin, Newark Station "The Lane Hackers' illegitimate use of our Universal Ship Identification system is infuriating. A technology created for the good of Sirius commerce is being exploited by a bunch of hedonistic junkies! That is why IC has begun hiring the Bounty Hunters in force." - Sales Rep Tyler Nichols, Interspace Commerce "We work in tandem with the Bounty Hunters. They perform the unpleasant job of criminal disposal, much like the Deep Space simpletons handle the manual labor of building and maintaining the Trade Lanes and Jump Gates for Ageira, and ultimately, us." - Patricia Stewart, Interspace Commerce "Outcasts, Corsairs, Red Hessians, Blood Dragons, Golden Chrysanthemums, Liberty Rogues, Unioners, Xenos, the LWB, the Farmers Alliance, Gaians, and Lane Hackers -- all these groups attack Trade Lanes. And that's why IC will pay any Bounty Hunter top dollar to kill them, any of them. But especially Lane Hackers." - Bartender Mike Karlin, Newark Station "The newly constructed Tau-23 to Tau-31 Jump Gate pair is currently the highest risk IC investment in the Sirius Sector. BMM's expoitation of mineral resources in the system has presented a serious threat to the Outcasts' sense of territory, and the Outcasts appear to be fighting back with a vengeance." - Interspace Commerce Rep. Tom Crusher, Waterloo Station, New London system "We will issue a decision on the Omega-7 system shortly. There are field agents assessing the situation. IC may no longer insure cargo in that system, as in Dresden after the rise of the Red Hessians. This would significantly increase the exposure of area shippers to catastrophic losses." - Sales Rep Janice Moore, Bonn Station "IC is very concerned that the Rheinland Military has proven unable to patrol the Omega-7 system satisfactorily. That is a crucial shipping route between Rheinland and Bretonia. Many of the precious metals in the Sirius Sector are found there. In particular, the future Copper supply for Ageira's plant in Colorado." - Bonn Bartender Jochen Sponla "Rheinland and its adjacent Border Worlds now suffer the dubious distinction of having the highest shipping insurance rates in the Sirius Sector. We have advised the Bretonian and Kusari militaries of the situation in the hope that a special arrangement can be made to keep the Border World Trade Lanes operating in this area." - Kirk Hoffmann, Bonn Station "Rheinland is plagued by a wide variety of criminals, some political, others engaged in common piracy. It is the latter group that interests us. Excessive insurance claims made by shipping companies and damage inflicted to the physical Trade Lane infrastructures can lead to decreased profits." - Bonn Bartender Jochen Sponla "The Sigma-13 Trade Lane attacks have attained crisis status. The Corsairs and Outcasts grow stronger with every passing year, and the GMG seems to be unable to effectively defend their territory as they did during the Eighty-Years War. The Edge World pirates have proven to be far more formidable adversaries than the Rheinland Imperial Fleet." - Kirk Hoffmann, Bonn Station Category:Corporations Category:Liberty Corporations Category:Factions Category:Liberty Factions Category:Organizations